The Tech Talent Explorer from Hays has given an insight into how AI is influencing tech roles globally, highlighting the technology’s role in augmenting human expertise. It also provides a global benchmark for salaries across key tech roles, and show the UK is performing solidly against international peers.
- UK technical roles show a moderate exposure to AI impact, with AI augmenting roles, rather than replacing expertise.
- UK tech professionals command competitive pay globally, ranking 15th out of 34 countries for both average salaries and 16th for contractor day rates.
- UK contractors in technical roles rank among the highest paid globally.
According to the report, the impact of AI varies sharply by role. Software‑intensive roles such as Software Developers, Data Engineers and AI Engineers are set to see the highest relative exposure to AI across the 20 technical roles assessed, where routine tasks are increasingly supported by automation. However, even for these roles, the overall impact remains modest, and, rather than eliminating roles, the technology is expected to remove specific tasks. These professionals continue to play a critical role through human oversight, design, problem‑solving and quality control.
By contrast, roles that rely on judgement, coordination and organisational oversight, including Project and Change Managers, show lower levels of AI impact. Infrastructure‑focused roles such as Security and Network Engineering are even lower in terms of expected impact, and remain essential to safe, reliable AI deployment.
Together this reflects a two‑speed transformation: AI reshapes software-intensive work fastest, while governance, change and leadership and operational safety roles grow in strategic importance.
In terms of pay, UK technical roles are commanding solid pay levels, demonstrating the resilience of the sector even as AI reshapes the world of work. Salaries are being driven by skills scarcity, demand and the system‑critical nature of roles, particularly across Cloud, Cybersecurity, DevOps and Platform Engineering.
While not among the very highest paying markets globally, the UK remains competitively positioned, sitting in the top half of countries for both permanent salaries and contractor day rates. For permanent employees, UK salary levels rank particularly well internationally: Security Engineers place 4th globally, while Java Developers, DevOps Engineers, Solutions Architects and .NET Developers all sit at 10th. Reflecting this strength, the UK appears in the top half of highest salaries across 18 of the 20 job categories.
The contractor market shows an equally robust picture. UK day rates rank 3rd globally for Java Developers and 5th for Cloud Engineers, with Security Engineers in 7th place. .NET Developers rank 8th, FullStack Developers 9th and Business Analysts 10th. Overall, the UK appears in the top half of highest day rates across 13 of the 20 job categories.
Based on the mean average salary across all roles, the top five highest‑paying countries for permanent tech employees, are the United States, Switzerland, Denmark, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. For contractor day rates, the leading markets are Switzerland, Denmark, Australia, Germany and Japan.
In the UK, wage levels reflect market dynamics rather than AI impact, with pay bands influenced primarily by supply, demand and budget structures, not by automation risk.
The highest average salaries for permanent employees include Solutions Architect (£84,249), Security Engineer (£75,702) and DevOps Engineer (£67,532). Contractors also command strong day rates in specialist areas, with Java Developers (£695), Cloud Engineers (£684) and Security Engineers (£659) sitting at the top end of the market.
By contrast, roles with broader talent supply or more standardised entry pathways typically sit lower on the pay scale. Current averages include Project Manager (£41,736), Test Analyst (£43,971) and Data Analyst (£44,415). Contractor rates show a similar pattern, with Project Managers (£388), Test Analysts (£391) and Network Engineers (£407) among the lower‑paid day rates.
“The findings of our report clearly show that AI isn’t replacing human talent but amplifying it,” comments David Curtis, STEM Senior Managing Director, Hays UK&I. “As automation accelerates routine tasks, the roles that thrive are those grounded in judgement, coordination and strategic oversight. For professionals, this creates significant opportunities to build future‑ready careers by developing adaptable, strategic and tech‑augmented skill sets. For organisations, the findings underline the growing importance of continuous development and flexible workforce strategies.
“To remain competitive,” adds Curtis, “the UK must continue to position itself as an attractive destination for the world’s best tech talent. That means ensuring wages and benefits remain attractive, but also creating an environment where innovation, skills development and career progression can accelerate. In a global market defined by rapid technological change, competitiveness is measured not only by pay, but by how effectively a country supports and invests in its people.”
